Carmen De Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder are a husband-and-wife dance
team that became an instrumental force in the modern dance movement of
the mid to late 20th Century. Carmen made her name both as a
choreographer and a dancer, while Geoffrey did the same, adding
painter, set designer and costume designer to his list of
accomplishments. In fact, he choreographed the original Broadway
production of "The Wiz" - and one of the highlights of the documentary
"Carmen and Geoffrey" is a clip of Geoffrey receiving the Tony Award as
Best Director for that play from none other than the original scarecrow
himself, Ray Bolger. Now, well past their physical primes but still
overflowing with vision and vigor, Carmen and Geoffrey impart their
wisdom and talents to a whole new generation of dancers just arriving
on the scene.

Directed by Linda Atkinson and Nick Dood, "Carmen and Geoffrey" is an
informative and loving tribute to these icons of modern dance. The
movie begins when Carmen and Geoffrey were mere youths themselves,
burning with an unquenchable desire to express themselves through
dance. It chronicles the early years before they met, he a dyslexic
child growing up in Trinidad and she a student of ballet in 1940s Los
Angeles. When they did finally discover one another - in the production
of Harold Arlen's "House of Flowers" - it was love at first sight. And
the rest, as they say, is history.

Luckily for us, Carmen and Geoffrey are still alive and well and as
eloquent, open-hearted and gregarious as ever. We get to hear the story
of their careers and lives - and of their nearly half-century-long love
affair - in their own words. We also learn quite a bit about the
history of modern interpretive dance - particularly as it relates to
the African American influence - through the chronicling of their
experiences. Priceless clips from the past are combined with
contemporary dance performances, making for a rich and satisfying
experience for lovers of dance - and of the two individuals who did so
much to define and refine it.

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